Be kind, members of this MM board, and answer the question!

This is just a really long way of me saying that I guess you never know what you'll like when. In that sense, it's a good thing to have 12 hours of music just so you don't run the risk of liking something you passed on... if that makes sense... But as far as sitting and listening to it straight for 12 hours, you'd have to be nuts.

I am quite torn over this matter. Obviously something is being released that will document Mr. Shore's excellent contributions in a more concise manner, and I do welcome this. However, how do you present the music in a manner that will maintain the pleasant listening experience Jonathan mentioned? Because, that is extremely important. Let us not forget the Phantom Menace fiasco.

I love the album releases for LOTR and feel very satisfied when I'm finished. Simply for an archiving sake I'd probably get the 12 hours...but there is a sense I get that it may be a bit superflous. There is certainly more faith in Shore to make something worthwhile than Sony Classical (producers of Phantom Menace set), though.

Any decision Mr. Shore and company decide on is one I welcome, and commend them all for being so considerate to the fans.

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Originally posted by scoreguy16:
...But as far as sitting and listening to it straight for 12 hours, you'd have to be nuts.

Clayton

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I listened to Wagner's Ring Cycle from beginning to end without a break. Tiring but fun! I was drunk by the time it was over.

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Originally posted by Alexborn007:
Let us not forget the Phantom Menace fiasco.

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I think the Ultimate Edition is a far better listening experience than the 1 CD version. It's still a mess, especially the second disc. But at least the parts that were not butchered are musically cohesive, whereas the original album is all over the place.

Generally, I'd rather have too much music than too little. When they leave something out, chances are it's something at least a few people really want.

Wagner's Ring: Good point. I just got the whole thing for Christmas, and it took me about three days to get through it. But who says we'd have to listen to the whole LOTR set in one sitting?

It would be easy to let it go at that, but I do want to point out that the LOTR epic has been acclaimed by critics and embraced by filmgoers everywhere, not just fans of Tolkien’s written works. It was not “just” a movie. It was an event, something that rarely comes to the cinema anymore.

Back in the day the scope of the movies was big. Lawerence of Arabia filled the screen with the panorama of the desert and a man’s personal struggle to overcome his inner demons. The Ten Commandments played out the struggle between man and God writ large across the silver screen. 2001 sought to answer eternal questions with enigmatic images played against the background of the solar system. Star War reminded us after a near decade of antiheroes that was still room for someone on the hero’s journey. These films were events and you not only saw a great film but you felt like you were part of something bigger, an experience that gives you something in common with everyone else who was a part of it. These pictures were BIG because they changed the viewer in big or small ways make us reexamine what we believe.

Today pictures seem smaller and less than they were. They are either small, intimate pictures that focus on individual stories, brainless or witless comedy or CGI laden effects picture full of technical artistry but no soul to speak of. I know these films have their apologists who say “Why take it seriously” or “It’s just a popcorn film” but there ought to be room for a film to aspire to something more than completing an Excel spreadsheet in the black.

LOTR did just that. It’s gratifying that it did good box office, but it did something more than that. It showed the heart of the story and the care and craftsmanship that went into making and presenting the tale. All the pain and misery that the character’s suffered was not only seen but felt, in the way that the best films always used to.

I also know there is a tendency among people to rail against something that is hugely popular like LOTR, Titanic and Star Wars just because it is popular. I can understand not “getting caught up in all of the Lord of the Rings Hype” but to “resent the enterprise” makes no sense to me.

[Yes, I'm being a bit sarcastic]

Seriously, I'd rather have Howard, or somebody, edit these scores down to something decent instead of having a half a day's worth of content to wade through. 12 hours? Edit your own favorites? I'll trust somebody else to do that. Now I'll admit that I have no life, but I still don't have time or the passion to be my own personal soundtrack producer.

I've been avoiding the current releases of these scores because I figured the huge fan following would lead to better albums. I'm also waiting for the mega-hype to die down, so that when I buy these scores and I find out that I'm totally disappointed with them, I won't smash the CDs with a hammer.

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Originally posted by MWRuger:
LOTR did just that. It’s gratifying that it did good box office, but it did something more than that. It showed the heart of the story and the care and craftsmanship that went into making and presenting the tale. All the pain and misery that the character’s suffered was not only seen but felt, in the way that the best films always used to.

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I agree with the statement that it is more than just a hyped movie. The amount and exceptional work of all parties (cast, crew, extras, etc.) is shown with mastery and care. The fact that Shore was a fan of the books, read them time and again, and kept a worn copy with him at all times to keep the emotion and story alive in the music is a true testament to how much went into scoring and making these films. I would relish the complete musical score.

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Originally posted by Alexborn007:
I am quite torn over this matter. Let us not forget the Phantom Menace fiasco.

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The Phantom Menace fiasco wouldn't have been that big of a fiasco if the score hadn't been cut to pieces in the film in the first place...the "Ultimate Edition" was the result of a secondary-type problem.

LOTR is different because the scores were not hacked to pieces and exist in-film mostly intact from the way they were recorded. I'm not a big fan of the scores as a whole and find the prospect of listening to 12 hours of LOTR music cringe-inducing...but if they are to be released in a "complete" format, I sincerely hope they are presented in film order and (as close as reasonably possible ala the RCA Star Wars special editions) in their film form. Those of you calling for a set of music heavily edited for a good "listening experience" already have CDs that were made for your tastes (the current OST's)...now let the fanatics have theirs.

I don't really want to flog the dead donkey, but I've been thinking about this, and what I'm really fed up with is the gargantuan pretentiousness of spreading these things out over years, whilst keeping the audiences on their toes with tantalising news of extra DVD footage etc etc etc ("SEE Christopher Lee's rare censored scene!"). Imagine if David Lean had made LAWRENCE OF ARABIA in three parts, or if De Mille had decided to do THE TEN COMMANDMENTS in installments of 3.333 every couple of years. I just think it's a piss-take.

But to get back to the original point, well, Shore's RETURN OF THE KING score has got some pretty good passages in it, but I haven't heard it all in one sitting yet. The first few times I fell asleep. I tried again today, and it stressed me out so much that I had to switch it off after about 45 minutes. So, I repeat, twelve hours, no. But maybe a nice twenty minute suite.

Listen to it all in one sitting, no. That would be rediculous. I have all of the Star Wars SE CDs. From time to time I put all 6 of them in the CD changer and listen to them over a few days or a week. But never in one sitting. Just because you have it all doesnt mean you have to take it all in at one time.

I want all 12 twelve hours plus the music Howard wrote for sequences that didn't make it onto screen or even the music he first wrote and then had to rewrite...